Thrown Together ~ The Story of Mudlark Pottery Collective

After a few years of making pottery, Dana Mitchell and Maureen McDonald were facing a challenge that tests many local potters: there are only so many wheels and kilns to go around. Even classes—a reliable way to get access to equipment—could be a hurdle to enroll in, given all the demand.

“Getting into a class was kind of strategic: you had to plan for when they were opening the classes to be the first to log in,” McDonald notes.  “And then when you are in a class, it's only three hours, one day a week. So if you wanted to keep doing more, you didn't have that opportunity.”

So the two of them decided to create the space they were looking for: the result is the Mudlark Pottery Collective, a community studio accessible to its members 24/7. It has 10 wheels, tools and supplies, storage space, glazes, and offers firing services. It also doubles as a brick-and-mortar supply store—Mitchell and McDonald note the closest physical pottery supply store is in south Edmonton.

“We saw this gap and, and we'd been talking about opening our own place...” McDonald begins.

 “...And it worked out!” Mitchell adds with a laugh. “We were just crazy enough to do it.”

Mudlark Pottery space and people at the wheel

The Mudlark space has been open since October, and it’s clear the interest they were hoping to find is there: pottery guilds from across Alberta have been visiting, and the St. Albert Potters Guild has been sending students their way.

“St. Albert Potters Guild is really happy that we're here, 'cause they don't have a lot of openings for new members, and they have a lot of students that they're teaching in their classes,” McDonald notes. “They've been sending them to us and it's been really nice to work together with them.”

They do currently expect Mudlark members to have a bit of experience, they note; enough to show up and work without much supervision. That said, they’re trialing classes of their own to help interested potters-to-be get up to that level.

They also emphasize the sense of community that’s emerging in a shared, communal space like theirs: where potters can see each other’s work, talk about techniques, and learn from each other.

“It's such a thing as a potter to be able to come and not only have a space where you can do your work […]  but you're also seeing what everybody else is making,” Mitchell says. “You never know what you're gonna be inspired by or the conversations that you're going to have. I think that’s the best part: you may leave with four new ideas and three new techniques that you never thought about. Or you may leave with just a lot of pottery that you got done, which is just as satisfying.”

“There was definitely demand,” McDonald adds. “People want to create, there's a need in a lot of people to create things. And so we're offering them the space to come and get dirty and have fun and and create and make—some of that is friendships and community, and some of it is art.”

More information about the Mudlark Pottery Collective can be found at mudlarkpotterycollective.ca.

Article written by Paul Blinov

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